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Drone inspection of wind turbines in France before qualification procedure Qualifoudre

11.07.2026

Drone inspections are also becoming increasingly important in the French wind energy market. In this interview, Simon Segard reports on how ENERTRAG Betrieb has built up its inspection portfolio in France and what challenges had to be overcome, especially during the introduction of the combined 2-in-1 inspection of rotor blades and lightning protection systems. He will also explain the current status of the Qualifoudre certification process and what advantages the planned certification will offer wind turbine operators in the future.

Question: What services does ENERTRAG offer? operations in the field of drone inspections in France, and how many Have you already carried out inspections? What makes the approach special?

Answer: In France, ENERTRAG company carries out the full range of drone inspections services as in Germany. In the In 2025, our 5 certified drone pilots have 213 Visual rotor blade inspections, 30 LPS 2-in-1 inspections, thermal imaging inspection of a PV park and the identification of 4 bird's nests by Thermal imaging detection performed.

The Cooperation with our partners has been running for several years in a spirit of trust and successfully.

Question: If we look at the starting time look back: What challenges were there in setting up the Drone inspections in France, and how did you master them?

Answer: Visual and Thermal Inspections have established themselves quickly and successfully. Our reliable partner enables us to carry out inspections by drone in an automated manner and Generate reports independently. This saves compared to manually working service providers significantly reduces the time and noticeably increases the quality of the results. The introduction of LPS inspections involved significantly more effort. Internally and externally, numerous challenges had to be overcome that had to be overcome by the process slowed down at first. But each of these hurdles has helped us to overcome the further develop the product in a targeted manner. The perspectives that arise from this are promising.

Question: In France, a new certification for LPS inspections with drones mandatory. Where does it stand ENERTRAG company is currently in this process, and when do you plan to To get certified? What does this mean for our customers?

Answer: In France, a new obligation for the testing of lightning protection systems on rotor blades. Anyone who has a inspection by drone, will need an official Certification. ENERTRAG Betrieb is consistently following this path and positioning itself is at the top of the market early on.

The Qualifoudre certification process is underway and the successful Completion is expected before the end of this year. The certification is comparable to ISO 9001. For operators of wind turbines, this means above all, safety. You can trust that ENERTRAG company The lightning protection test complies with the rules and at a tested quality level . ENERTRAG company also expects to be among the top five of the first certified companies in France for lightning protection testing rotor blades of wind turbines.

More Drone inspection information: https://enertrag.com/fr/global/enertrag-france/l-exploitation-des-parcs